Running back plays key role in Huskies' success

Quantarius Jordan's name will forever be in the Huskies' record books because he scored Hough's first-ever touchdown.

The junior has been a key factor for his team's early-season success, which is somewhat unexpected of a first-year football program.

Going into last week's game against Garinger, the running back was averaging 139 yards per game. During the Huskies' inaugural outing at Rocky River, Jordan rushed for 108 yards and two touchdowns. For Hough's second game against Waddell, Jordan ran for 170 yards and a touchdown on 20 attempts to lead the Huskies to its first win in their Cornelius stadium.

"To be honest, I've done pretty good," said Jordan. "Everything has done well - our linemen are blocking well - so everything is going according to plan."

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Hough coach Bobby Collins, who calls Jordan 'Q,' has been impressed by the running back's work ethic.

"I think Q's a blue-collar guy," said Collins. "I don't think I've heard 20 words from him since he showed up on that first day. He just comes to practice every day with a smile on his face."

Collins said Jordan's versatility is what makes him stand out.

"He opens up a game, running players over," said Collins, explaining that Jordan has the talent to change directions on the field. "His ability to be a hard-nosed runner and a finesse runner can help us a lot."

Jordan said he prides himself on being a power-back.

"I love playing low, playing hard, playing fast," he said.

Having an efficient running game with Jordan and the team's other tailback, Jackson Campbell, allows the young and inexperienced Huskies to open up the game while also taking some of the pressure off quarterback Keegan Brennan.

"For any football program, if you can run the football, you're going to have a chance to win," said Collins.

With Hough mostly running shotgun and spread formations, that may be even more of the case.

Collins said Jordan has become one of the team's leaders by setting an example through his work on the field, but his starting tailback still needs work on keeping fumbles to a minimum. But the coach said Jordan has acknowledged that.

"You can tell in practice that's it's something he's working to get better at it," said Collins.

Jordan has been surprised by how well his fellow Huskies started to play coming out of the gate this year.

"I didn't think we'd come out and dominate teams and go 2-0," the 17-year-old said. "If somebody had told me I was going to rush for 278 yards those first two games, I would've told them they're crazy."

Collins agreed that Hough has played well to kick off the season.

He said that getting off to a good start has Hough excited and that some of his players were even getting a bit cocky last week.

"As a coaching staff, we're going to keep working on the fundamentals and keep these guys humbled and let them know that each week that you win, it just gets harder," he said, explaining that his team still has a lot of work to do this fall.

How the Huskies perform the rest of the way will have a lot to do with how Jordan performs.

The 6-foot-2, 180 pounder admits that his focus will be to stay eligible, as he sat out his sophomore season at North Mecklenburg because of academic issues.

"I want to stay focused so I can keep my grades up," he said.

On the field, he wants to keep surprising the Huskies' opponents.

"I'm definitely excited," said Jordan.

"If we keep playing the way we've played, we can continue to win. We have to keep it up."